The Lylat Wars Combat Evolved
by MyMortisha
Summary: Its been years since Fox and his crew saved the known universe from the evils of Andross and the Venomian army. Can a drug and alcohol addicted Fox get it together once more to save the universe? And what part will the mysterious Master Chief play?
1. Prologue Demon Dreams

**The Lylat Wars- Combat Evolved **

**Prologue**

**Demon Dreams**

"_...He's a legend in his own mind."_

Fox McCloud tossed and turned in the grips of a terrible dream. His hands gripped the sheets in throes of fury, as sweat pooled around his body, his face contorted in an almost caricatured expression of sadness and anger.

"_...James McCloud was an idealistic old fool. His notions of peace and justice lead him to destroy half the known universe..." _

Fox turned over once again coughing and spitting. His stomach churned with all the irregularity of a water ship's bow. He was sick, drunk, and strung out. His nights had gone from celebrations of peace to heroin fueled dives into the dregs of society. The money he'd made protecting the world and everyone in it from the evils of Andross and the Venomian Army was all but gone- squandered away on more Vulpine prostitutes than anyone could count and even more fuel for his terrible addiction. Fox McCloud was a shadow of his former self. Sure, he'd taken jobs after the Lylat wars, but nothing paid as well. His old crew was all but gone, with only Peppy Hare sticking around- and even he was nearing retirement.

"_... And a lot of good his kid's done us. He's killed nearly 200,000 innocents, 'ya know!" _

The thoughts screamed through Fox's mind, unchecked by waking consciousness. Fox scrambled to his Arwing in no shape to be flying, fighting, or even walking. He jetted from the base he'd been stationed in, going on instinct- his commlink not even on. Several enemies reared up behind him. Sloppily Fox executed a back flip and came up behind them. He fired two missiles without checking his bearings. He'd done it hundreds of times before, always letting his intrinsic abilities take over. Careening forward one missile obliterated an enemy, but the other somehow missed. As it continued forward, at exceedingly high speeds, Fox noticed a civilian transport unit taking off. There wasn't any chance of it getting out of the way in time- he had to do something. In a heroin and alcohol fueled act of courage, one, had he been sober, wouldn't have even entered his mind, Fox boosted forward just underneath the missile, and without hesitation throttled up into what he thought was its direct path. He was off, by a mere micro-meter. His Arwing crashed directly into the underside of the transport vehicle. The tip of the nose punched through the thin floor and impaled several of the stunned passengers. Blood dripped onto Fox's windscreen as he jettisoned himself from the crash site. The last thing Fox saw before hitting the ground below him was the transport exploding in mid-air- spewing out passengers like a baby spits back unfavorable food and crashing to the ground in a mass of twisted metal. Everyone was dead. Fox knew it.

As Fox lay on the ground attempting to contemplate what had happened, and more importantly what part he'd had in it the smell of burning flesh and fur overwhelmed his senses. He vomited on himself and passed out.

In the end everyone held Fox responsible. The Lylat High War Council stripped Fox of his rank on the Cornerian Army- his accolades, his steady income, his life as he knew it was shattered do to one stupid mistake. Now he had to take "odd jobs" something he'd grown unaccustomed to over time. He had fully dedicated himself to being a "real" soldier, not a mercenary. He hadn't taken a paid job in years that wasn't provided by General Pepper.

However, as ever with Fox McCloud, he was determined, as a soldier for hire, to be the best damn soldier for hire he could be. That was the only way he could rise above the competition. Sure, he knew he had a solid reputation, but that couldn't keep him afloat forever. He had to prove his worth in a field of work that he'd been out of for years.

Even so, jobs were still slow to trickle in. Fox still got the occasional work, but most of it didn't pay well. His life was fragmented now, where once it had order. He hadn't realized how complacent he'd became, and he hated to admit it. Despite his protests to the contrary Fox's once free spirit seemed to be locked up somewhere. The rigors of the Cornerian Army, along with its attempts to sanitize war with its staunchy, stiff regulations had seen to that. The Cornerian Army didn't care for anyone who didn't

tow the company line. They wanted masterclass soldiers who would follow orders to the letter and know the soldier handbook backwards and forwards. Fox had given them Hell at first, his independent spirit fighting conformity, but soon he found himself doing and acting the way the army had wanted him to all along.

For the first time in his life, since before his father was killed he was happy and comfortable. Fox finally had a sense of being, a real true purpose to his soldiering. The stigma of being a "gun for hire" was no longer attached to him. Putting on his uniform, covered with medals and ribbons, given out to war heroes only of the highest order gave him hope for his own future.

But no more. Now Fox McCloud searched for one thing he couldn't buy on a Cornerian back alley; redemption. In his mind it wasn't even redemption for his alcoholism or his drug addiction. It was redemption from what he'd become. Fox, for the first time in his life, was actually embittered by the thought of living another day. Nothing gave him a thrill or made him happy anymore. Pushing eight (forty in human years) his body was falling apart. The weight he'd put on from the months of drug and alcohol abuse sickened him. He, at thirty-nine looked nearly forty-nine. And he felt it too. His stamina in flight had decreased greatly. He relied more on sheer firepower now than his own skills as a pilot. Fox looked, and more noticeably felt like shit.

Suddenly Fox was shocked from his unpleasant slumber by a large explosion. He crawled out of bed, head throbbing, eyes bloodshot searching for his pants.

"Lights at 10 percent." the lights in the room turned on at his command, dimly illuminating the room. Several bottles of cheap liquor sat open and empty on a small table next to Fox's bed.

Finding his pants crumpled on the floor Fox muttered to himself, "I really need a shower." before strolling out, the door whooshing open as he walked through it.

"Good afternoon Fox."

The sound of Rob 64's voice sent stings of pain through Fox's skull. "Not so damn loud."

"Sorry sir." Rob lowered his voice to a softer level, although Fox's head still tingled with slight pain.

"Rob, where's Peppy?"

"On the observation deck. He requests your presence immediately."

"I gotta catch a quick shower."

Fox stalked, sullen and discordant, towards the bathroom. The bright lights and stark, white hallways bringing nothing but pain to his throbbing head.

Fox was a shattered soldier. His life was shit. And it was about to get a whole lot worse.


	2. Chapter 1 Enter Star Fox

**The Lylat Wars- Combat Evolved **

**Chapter One**

**Enter Star Fox**

Fox showered for what felt like hours in his private quarters, although it was only minutes. With the warm, soapy water washing away some of his stress and tension, Fox felt better, but not "good" in the traditional sense. That ideal was long gone in his world. As he stepped out and dressed Fox suddenly felt pangs of hunger. He hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before.

"ROB, what's for dinner?" Fox said. He felt odd, as if he were talking to himself. He knew ROB could hear him from anywhere in the ship (and that bothered him occasionally) but yet he still felt alone in certain places, his private quarters being one of them.

Momentarily the disembodied voice of ROB 64 replied flatly, "steak and potatoes."

"Sounds great, ROB." Fox didn't really care what he'd soon be eating, but simply felt the need to talk to someone, to assure himself that someone was still there. He was lonely and broken, his habits leaving him in dire straits with his friends and family.

Silently Fox walked the halls of his ship- The Great Fox, a mammoth vessel of dreadnought classification. It felt big when filled with full crew and equipment. With only Fox, Peppy, and ROB aboard it felt virtually empty.

Fox stalked past the now uninhabited crew quarters, nearing the observation bridge, he felt pangs of sadness.

"Nothing lasts forever, Fox." Peppy Hare strolled beside Fox, leading him to a chair. "Sit down Fox."

Fox sat, his eyes struggled to adjust to the brightness of the room, the harsh lighting only further accentuating the bright red vessels that popped from the whites of his eyes. All said, Fox was ready for Peppy to speak, but he remained discomfortingly silent.

Peppy stared blankly out through the large glass windscreen for several seconds before speaking, "Fox, Katina is under attack by an unknown force. They're not Venomian, and they're not any of their known associates."

"Huh?" Fox's mind had wandered from the present situation. Even after eleven hours of sleep his body still ached under tremendous fatigue.

"Are you strung out again?" Peppy's voice came harshly to Fox's ears.

"Yeah, but just a little." Fox was telling the truth.

Peppy opened his mouth to speak further, but Fox interrupted, "So what do we do?"

"_We-"_ Peppy said harshly, "do nothing until further notice. I however will fly to the point of contact and see what's what. _You,_ you strung out junkie, will mind the Great Fox while I take my leave."

Fox looked shocked, but deep down knew it was for the best that he stay behind. "Alright Peppy. What else do we know about these attackers?"

"According to data ascertained at the attack site, they're calling themselves "The Covenant"." Replied Peppy.

"The Covenant, huh?" Replied Fox. "I've heard of them. If they're reputation is anything to go by you may need some help."

"Its too bad your in no shape to fly. You look like you just had a vicodin eating contest with Courtney Love- and you won."

Fox was confused, "Courtney- who?"

"Never mind, she was before your and my time anyway. But- in all seriousness, I'd welcome any help I can get. But you don't want to risk it, do you?"

Peppy looked somewhat helpless in his stature. He was older now, the years of fighting having taken such a toll on his body that the intervening years after fighting hadn't helped him much. He, much like Fox, was a broken soldier.

It was clear to Fox that Peppy needed help.

"Peppy, for you I'd do anything." Replied Fox thoughtfully. "I'm fresh and clean now. Really."

"Are you sure, kid? I don't want anything to go wrong down there."

"Sure I'm sure, Peppy." Fox smiled a crooked smile as he shook his head lightly. "Everything's a-okay up here." He pointed to his head, while looking slightly down. His eyes were freshly inflamed as the lighting in the room grew brighter. ROB had turned up the lights.

"I'm really not sure about this. You haven't had a job in months. You're rusty."

"No rustier than you, old man." Fox replied coyly.

Peppy glared angrily at the fox. Thinking he'd blown his chance Fox quickly conceded, "I'm only joking Peppy."

"I guess I could use the help. Alright, kid go get ready, we're dusting off in five."

Fox gave a hearty, if unusual, "Yes sir!" before dashing off back to his room.

Five minutes later Fox was strolling down the hallway. He had on a long sleeved shirt, which he wore for two reasons; He liked it, and most importantly of all, it covered his fresh new needle marks.

"_Everyone finds their courage in different places..." _Fox thought to himself as he strapped himself into his Arwing, bringing the glass and metal enclosure down before strapping his belt across his unsightly large gut. Fox turned his commlink on, he stated excitedly "Ready for takeoff, Peppy old pal."

As the Fox and Peppy launched from the ships bay, Fox felt something he hadn't felt in a long time; fear. Not fear for himself, or even for Peppy. But fear for the civilians of Katina. He hoped to his Christian God in heaven that nothing would happen like it did the last time he'd been in action. _"Those people didn't deserve to die like that."_

As both men blasted off into hyperspace Fox switched on his commlink; "Peppy, I've been getting my courage from the bottle and the needle for too long now, he said. "Today I get my courage from you."

"10-4 good buddy." Peppy was ready for action.

Momentarily they were there, and what they saw was absolutely catastrophic.


	3. Chapter 2 Dynamic Cataclysm

**The Lylat Wars- Combat Evolved **

**Chapter Two**

**Dynamic Cataclysm**

"I don't believe it Fox." Said Peppy breathlessly. "Its been wiped out, all of it."

Below the two pilots Katina's cities laid in ruin. Its famous pilot training school was burning, the point of it laying inside the building proper.

Fox observed the carnage, dumbfounded, he'd never seen anything it before.

"Lets get the bastards that did this!"

Fox boosted, all fuel tanks operating at full capacity. He pushed his Arwing hard to the surface as he came nose to nose with several strange aircraft.

They were purple, their noses rounded at the front, their wingspan smaller than that of an Arwing, on each side two long rounded bars came to meet a longer flat surface, their propulsion systems on the extreme ends of each wing. Dual laser cannons, as well as what appeared to be missile launchers bedecked each wing.

Oddly, they weren't attacking. Fox, thinking quickly opened a communication channel; "who are you? What are you doing here? Are you responsible for this?"

The purple craft responded with a blast of blue laser fire. "Shit!" Screamed Fox as he banked hard to the left, the craft followed in a hard pattern. They weren't breaking formation as they fired, reigning lasers down upon Fox's ship.

"Fox you okay?" Asked Peppy, finally breaking through to planet surface. He saw the chase as it was occurring and boosted in behind the formation of purple craft. He fired his laser cannons, both of them spewing hyper-heated lasers. They impacted on what appeared to be an energy shield, never even touching the craft.

From behind Peppy a new purple craft appeared, it banked hard to the left of Peppy and came up just underneath him. "_How'd he do that!"_ Peppy thinking quickly boosted hard and fast downward, the steel of his ship scraping and actually puncturing the energy shield. Peppy continued downward, pushing the purple craft down with him, moments later it scrapped along the planet surface, as it tried boosting away Peppy let fly with a missile, it tracked and hit the target square in the back wing, sending it flying off as it spun out and crashed into a pile of rubble.

Meanwhile, Fox was having his own difficulties. His Arwing, as loaded down with weapons as it was, wasn't as fast as it used to be. He barrel rolled and zipped around the sky, but just couldn't shake his attackers. Their heavy laser fire was beginning to really bust up his ship. As he came to Katina City proper he banked hard to the left, the purple craft stayed on him. High above the city streets Fox dropped several bombs from his payload, rubble from many inlying building crashed down as Fox prepared for a very risky maneuver. He flipped a switch to open a second, faster burning gas tank, and began to siphon fuel from his main tank as he boosted towards the streets , rubble falling all around him. The purple craft followed him under it, undaunted as the falling rubble simply bounced off their energy shields. Fox was shocked and dismayed, he fired a rocket at a billboard ahead of him, and flew between the "legs" that held the structure, the falling object crashed down on one of the purple craft sending it hurdling to the ground in a fiery explosion.

Three of the purple craft were left, as Fox rounded The Dymler Building, the largest building in the city. On his radar Fox saw that the craft were coming in closer, and closer. With his last bit of siphoned fuel Fox banked hard around the far right corner of the building, the bottom of his ship scraping its rocky surface. As two of the three craft approached him, Fox, via his radar saw the other sneaking up behind him. Fox banked hard to the left, almost breaking his flight stick in the process. He smashed through the heavy rock wall as the enemy craft followed him. Flying, quickly, from side to side Fox tried to lead the enemy into crashing into several heavy pillars, but it wasn't happening. They were too smart for that.

"Computer, target all main structural points in this building. Fire cluster missiles on my count of three."

"Scanning shows that you are in the building sir. Doing what you ask would kill you. Your command will be ignored until a more suitable course of action is commanded."

Fox was coming up on the other side of the building. "Computer, override self-preservation commands."

"Overriding." The computer voice droned.

To buy himself some time Fox released several canisters of black tar from his Arwing's rear weapons hatch.

The canisters exploded as they hit the enemy craft. The shields, as it turned out, only blocked energy attacks. Fox was right.

"Change of plans, switch to auto-pilot, open top hatch."

Fox leaned under his seat and grabbed a several full liquor bottles. He'd been saving these for a special moment. Here it was.

Fox also drew out a hollow projection unit. He tossed that out first, it projected a perfect faux-Arwing. Fox tore off several strands of his shirt sleeve and stuffed them into the open bottles. While the enemy was busy with the other "Arwing" Fox rose from the inside of his craft and lit the rags before tossing the bottles. They impacted on the craft, their alcohol fueled fire burning and spreading quickly before hitting the gas tank of one ship. It burst into flames and spun out taking the second craft with it. The third still advanced on Fox's six.

Fox, once again taking manual control of his ship braked and spun to face the third flaming ship. He fired with his custom built dual chain guns, cutting down the enemy in mid-flight. The broken ship screeched to a halt on the stone floor, coming to a stop a few feet from Fox.

"I've got to see who these guys are." Fox landed his ship and stepped out. Carefully he walked across the rubbled filled floor. Outside one of Katina's two suns was setting. It cast a dark shadow over the top floor of the building, a quiet cold wind stirred as Fox stalked forward, his natural animal instincts telling him he'd better not consummate his plan. He shook off his negative feelings as he reached the craft and pushed a button on the side of it opening the top hatch.

As Fox investigated he noticed that the underside of the hatch was splattered with something **_blue. _**

Fox rolled the creature over, it was hideous. Its face was split in four quarters by a bullet. Its mouth was like that also, but it appeared to be naturally so. Its body was covered in what appeared to be armor. The creature's feet seemed to be hooved, their curvature unique, like the back legs of a canine, or at least one before Fox's time. Its hands were clawed, in its death throes it seemed to clutch the steering device so tightly that its hands were cracking apart. Of course, it was also riddled with bullet holes and, quite dead.

"_What the Hell are you?"_

Shaken, Fox turned to walk away. He had to go, he needed to tell Peppy what he'd seen.

As Fox neared his Arwing the creature pounced. Taken unaware Fox barely had time to draw his blaster. He fired, several shots tore through the creature's energy shield, and another shot to the head put it down for good. Fox blew the smoke from the barrel of his weapon and re-holstered it. He felt like a total badass and offered up the snide comment of "Welcome to Lylat." before getting in and blasting off.


	4. Chapter 3 Through The Never

**The Lylat Wars- Combat Evolved **

**Chapter 3**

**Through The Never**

"Fox, get your ass back here!" Fox's commlink roared to life. On the other end, Peppy shouted desperately.

"Peppy, what's wrong?"

"They... they launched a surprise attack! We need your help!"

"Computer, switch to the emergency fuel, double time it!"

Fox's Arwing kicked up dust as it careened through the sky. Fox was miles away from where the battle was taking place. He had to hurry.

"Fox, we need you!" Screamed Peppy. "They've through Bill's ground troops in seconds. They're unstoppable!"

"Bill, what about him?" Fox questioned.

"Yes, Bill. The Hound Dog and Bulldog units were waiting. They detected enemy craft and took off as soon as they could."

"Why?" Fox was stupefied. These were some of the best trained fighter pilots in the galaxy. Yet, they were **_hiding?_**

"_What could've been **that** bad?" _

"They were scared." Replied Peppy. "I'm scared too, Fox."

Fox's body shook, a cold sweat coming over him. He felt as if he'd been hit with a brick to the windpipe, as he gasped for breath- becoming almost asthmatic. His legs felt like rubber, and he began to shake. His hands gripped the throttle as he exited Katina City.

Fox had never known a single thing to shake the always stoic Hare. Nothing. Peppy, he'd seen it all; every bit of what the evils of the universe had to throw at him. He'd took on legions of space pirates by himself, without blinking. He'd been soldiering for longer than even Fox's own father- he'd seen **_everything_**. He was never scared. Ever.

But yet here it was, Peppy was simply horrified. His voice shook, and his lip trembled at the thought of "The Covenant".

Momentarily Fox was there.

The battle unfolding in front of Fox was epic in its overt grandiosity. Despite being outnumbered, vastly so, several, maybe twenty of the purple craft were destroying everything in sight. Their diminutive size proving to be no obstacle, as they, small as they were, stood up to the much larger ships piloted by Bill and his fighter squadrons.

As Fox finally came into range he commanded, quickly as if trying to hold himself together, "computer lock onto all enemy signals. Fire missiles."

Several clusters of missiles burst from Fox's weapons bay as he boosted into the main cluster of ships. It was chaos.

Engaged in a dogfight momentarily, a purple fighter broke off from battling one of Bill's squad and boosted towards Fox. Fox, barely having time to react, leveled off with his twin chain guns. They cut the craft down the middle. Fox, turned again, slightly to the left and fired at another three or four purple craft. They too fell from the sky. Fox had found the best weapon for the job. However, he wasn't sure how long it was going to last him.

"Computer, check ammo on chain guns."

"Ammo at twenty percent, Fox."

"Oh man..."

Suddenly another purple ship popped up behind Fox. Fox boosted, trying to evade, but it stayed on his six. Boosting into the main cluster of ships, Fox banked hard- first to the left, then to the right. The pursuing craft smashed through several Katinan fighters, undaunted in its pursuit. Fox, thinking quickly, flew directly towards another one of the purple craft. He flew under it, just barely scrapping along its underbelly. The pursuing craft avoided it nimbly.

"I just can't shake this guy!"

A rocket impacted on Fox's left wing, leaving a shredded mass of unprotected wires and circuitry.

"Computer, repair Arwing. Re-route left blaster power to the G-Diffuser!"

Fox barrel-rolled through another large group of dogfighting craft, barely avoiding a crippled Katinan ship. That damn Covenant craft was still hanging tight.

"Bill, Peppy, help me out!" Shouted Fox. From behind, Fox saw Bill Grey's ship rear up behind the purple vessel. It let out a stream of hyper-hot laser blasts that hardly dented the Covenant energy shield.

"I'm here to rescue you, Fox."

Bill fired again, this time concentrating his fire heavily on a small section of the shield. The laser fire chipped away enough of the shield to enable him to fire several missiles. The purple craft crashed to the earth below in a purple, fiery ball of metal.

"Wow... that was-"

Without warning another missile struck the side of Fox's ship, sending it spinning out, a gaping hole torn through almost the entirety of the craft's left side.

As Fox's ship, crippled and mangled by a direct missile hit hurdled towards the ground, Fox screamed **"COMPUTER, RE-ROUTE ALL POWER TO MAIN FLIGHT ENGINES!"**

Lights flashed, things whizzed and whined, their mechanical screeching almost deafening as Fox's on board computer carried out its command.

"Power routed to main flight engine." the computer voice responded.

Fox had one chance to make it out of this alive. "Computer, now re-route G-Diffuser power to underbelly blast-brakes."

Fox's ship careened straight down, but it never hit the ground. The G-Diffuser's remaining power cushioned Fox's fall. His Arwing was almost entirely totaled, but at least he was okay.

"ROB, drop the Landmaster. I'm gonna need it."

Silence.

"ROB?" Fox was confused. ROB wasn't responding.

..."Launching Landmaster..." ROB's voice came faintly back to Fox over his commlink.

Fox looked to the sky to see the Landmaster launch as requested. However, as it was coming down, an enemy missile struck it. It crashed to the ground, practically disintegrated by the blast.

"ROB, is it drivable?" Fox walked up to it, the aerial battle raging overhead.

Still, no response came back Fox's way.

Fox touched it, putting his paw through the outer metal armor. What was left of it, the part that hadn't been destroyed in the explosion, was actually melting under Fox's paw.

"...I guess that's a no then." Said Fox.

Fox trotted back to his Arwing, getting on the commlink he asked, "Bill- got any spare fighters."

No sooner had the words left his mouth then Bill's battle ravaged ship hit the dirt, it slid, scraping across the planet's rough gravely surface before directly colliding with Fox's Arwing. The collision shattered the glass windscreen on Bill's fighter, metal from the front body of the craft twisted inward- the screams were awful, ear piercing and pitiful. As the ship came to a stop Fox looked inside. Bill was a bloody mess, glass and fragmented metal protruded from his canine body, his fur was burnt, even charred off his body in some places.

It was a hideous sight to see.

But he was breathing. By some God-forsaken miracle Bill was breathing.

Fox pulled Bill from the crash site, slinging him over his shoulder.

"Fox.." Bill said breathlessly with even the single utterance causing blood to issue forth from inside him. "...they're retreating."

Fox turned to see the purple craft disengage their individual battles and blast off into space. No one followed.

"Why'd they do that?" Confusion swirled through Fox's brain. "They could've won."

"They don't care about winning, Fox." Bill coughed again, blood poured from his open mouth. "Its the battle these creatures crave."

Fox looked sadly skyward. He wanted revenge in the worst way.

"Take me to the medical center, Fox." Said Bill, as sternly as he could in his present condition.

Behind the canine duo, Peppy landed. His Arwing was beat up, parts of it were charred black from lasers and the front windscreen was cracking.

"Fox! You're okay!" Shouted Peppy.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Replied Fox, stepping into Katina's military base.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No. I should do this alone."

Bill Grey coughed up another burst of blood, his body shook, his eyes frantically dashed about before rolling back in his head.

Bill Grey had died in Fox's arms.

Peppy spoke up once more as Fox entered Katina's base; "Lets get those bastards Fox..."

A tear rolled down Fox's cheek as he walked the empty halls towards Bill's private room.


	5. Chapter 4 The God That Failed

**The Lylat Wars- Combat Evolved**

**Chapter 4**

**The God That Failed**

"_I don't believe it..."_

Tears rolled down Fox's furry cheeks as he entered Katina's once mighty military installation. The brown walls and floors were decimated, blown to chunks by missiles and laser fire. With Bill's heavy body burdening Fox, he felt even worse.

He'd failed, and done so spectacularly, once again. He, Fox McCloud, the great deity of space had failed. Even in his current state, being the drug addled, drunkard he was, Fox couldn't remember the last time he'd failed in a real battle.

It wasn't like the last time, this time he knew the mission parameters he knew the enemy, and he knew how to combat them, for the most part. But somehow, someway, he'd been almost entirely outmaneuvered, out gunned, and just plain dominated. Fox fought the idea, but his subconscious screamed out.

"_They're just too good for me..."_

He just wanted to explode, to go out and fly into space and find where they were positioned and just kill every last one of them. But that just wasn't an option.

Fox rounded another corner, stepping lightly over piles of rubble that littered the floor. At the end of a small conclave sat a repeating plasma cannon. Its occupants were dead, as were several of the Covenant creatures. Splashes of red and blue covered the walls, ceilings, and floors. It looked like a finger painting from hell.

"We gave them Hell, didn't we Bill?" Asked Fox. His words were cold and empty, all the candor he'd had earlier had left him. Bill's body hung limply in Fox's arms, he was becoming cold and stiff.

Momentarily Fox's radio buzzed to life; the familiar voice of Peppy filtered in over the wave length, "Fox, take all the time you need. I've readied the Great Fox. We're ready for pickup whenever you are."

Fox didn't respond- instead simply opting to switch the device off. This didn't involve Peppy, and it didn't need to.

As he reached deeper into the complex Fox saw more and more of the after effects of the attack. Walls were toppled over, bodies, both alien and animal littered the floors, some bore the marks of explosions, others were shredded by laser fire, as with every hallway previous the floors were a mixture of red and blue, red being the dominant color of the mixture, a testament to the Covenant's superiority.

Down a small hallway Fox could see the crew quarters. Several dead canines lay there, obviously caught off guard. They didn't even have their uniforms on. A Covenant creature also lay there, its neck, such as it was, was snapped.

A fresh tear rolled down Fox's cheek, his arms throbbed as he continued to hoister Bill's somewhat portly frame.

Coming up on the Admiral Crew quarters, of which Bill was one Fox began to decide what he'd do.

He hadn't had any previous experience at doing such, and didn't necessarily know if Bill would prefer such a funeral, but he couldn't leave Bill's body unrested on some Godforsaken dead planet like this.

"_So, a mercenary's funeral it is, Bill." _

Fox walked into Bill's room, maneuvering lightly through the somewhat tight door frame.

The room itself was something Fox could be sure Bill was proud to live in. But to be laid to rest?

"_It'll have to do..." _

Laying Bill on his bed, the sheets of which were finely made, Fox moved to turn on a light switch.

With the room more fully illuminated it was clear to Fox that Bill enjoyed living in style. Certainly it was nothing to opulent, but everything had a certain "I can spend a little bit more than you" feel to it.

A plasma screen TV hung on one wall. Medals hung everywhere, lining several glass cases. A gold antique bookshelf set opposite Bill's bed. It was covered with several musty old texts.

On a mantle in the far side of the room sat several of Bill's most prized treasures; trophies he'd collected most of which related to his aptitude in flight, one of the few last remaining original "DVD'S"- before the universal switch to Blu-Ray Discs, as well as a box of ancient (but not unusable) Cuban cigars.

"_I can't burn this place." _

But Fox still wasn't sure what to do.

Thinking solemnly Fox glanced at the small bed-table, on top of several old books lay a copy of the now ancient "Gideon's Bible". Fox opened the front cover, inside a stamped in message read "Property of Best Western."

Never knowing Bill to be an extremely pious man, Fox debated on what he should do. Shifting the tome from hand to hand, he finally settled in on giving Bill his last rites.

Fox hailed Mary, as he knelt down in front of Bill's body. Holding his paw, Fox delivered a quick eulogy, talking at great expediency about how much Bill meant to him as a friend, finally as his eulogy was finished Fox gave up all pretenses of being a professional soldier and burst into an uncontrollable torrent of tears. The release, felt like an unburdening of Fox's soul. He was alone here, surrounded by the corpses of his allies and enemies. No one would ever hold him in a shame for his behavior, even if anyone were still alive. Fox had to let it all out...

"God..." Fox sobbed, another stream of tears rushing from his ducts, _**"why have you forsaken me?" **_Tears rained from the vulpine's eyes

Fox sobbed uncontrollably, face down on the royal blue carpet for what must have been hours, before finally rising to see that night had fallen. For all intents and purposes, Fox was a mess. His fur was matted with sweat, his body ached, his face was twisted into a contorted caricature of both anger and sadness. Nothing in Fox's life had ever brought him so much pain. Fox knew he had no other choice, because to him living was no longer an option.

Standing, and walking at an unsteady gait Fox stumbled towards Bill's kitchen. Tearing open his fridge, Fox saw nothing to satisfy his needs. Going almost on instinct in the dark room Fox finally found what he was looking for; the cheap liquor Bill kept around to drink away those long nights of boredom.

Popping the cap on a bottle Fox began chugging, the salted whiskey didn't look good, and it tasted even worse. But it didn't stop Fox from chugging the whole thing.

Fox knew he had to numb the pain of what he hd to do next.

Fox stumbled blindly into Bill's bathroom switching on a light- a light appearing so bright, that in Fox's state it seemed to be the lights of Heaven itself.

Fox looked around the basic bathroom, a toilet sat in the center of the room. A shower stood a few feet from it. Nothing he needed was near.

After a few minutes of rummaging Fox managed to find what he was looking for; a pack of straight razors Bill kept around.

Fox, acting quickly tore open the package, pulling out one and throwing the rest to the floor.

Next drunkenly Fox pulled off his shirt. Every one of his muscles ached as he did this.

But soon the pain would go away...

Sitting down on the toilet Fox readied himself. His arm was crooked, in an attempt to bring as much of his main arterial artery to the surface as possible.With one smooth motion Fox set about ending his life.

With a loud thud the bathroom's wooden door exploded inward.

Fox dropped to the floor, arterial fluid sprayed everywhere, the alcohol only serving to hasten the effect.

"_**FOX**_!" screamed Peppy as he sprinted towards his fallen friend.

"Peppy, let me die..." Fox stated, his voice now just barely a whisper. His hand clutched at Peppy's tan jacket.


	6. Chapter 6 Dyer's Eve

**The Lylat Wars- Combat Evolved**

**Chapter 5**

**Dyer's Eve**

"My God Fox, what'd you do to yourself kid?" Peppy asked loudly, loading Fox's profusely bleeding body onto the heavy metal medical table of the Great Fox.

Peppy's heart raced as he began to quickly run through the standard procedures. First he cauterized the surface wound to stop bleeding. Although in this case, that didn't stop much, the cut was _much_ deeper than Peppy had originally anticipated. The cauterization tore open, more blood spilled out. It stained the sheets on the table a dark red.

"_Oh God, don't die on me, Fox."_

Fox's eyes opened for a brief moment, pain seared through his head as he snapped them shut.

"_I'm in the Great Fox? How?"_

"ROB, get me the anti-septic syringe."

ROB quickly passed it along to him.

Peppy quickly used the instrument, plunging it into Fox's arm. The anti-septic momentarily took affect, but its effects weren't nearly enough. Fox's arms were still bleeding from the wrist to the crook of his arms. His fur was drenched and sticky with blood and viscous fluid.

Peppy had to act quickly, every hear beat brought Fox closer to death. His vitals were steadily fading; Fox's death was almost a certainty at this point.

"ROB, give me a plunger and a scalpel."

ROB handed Peppy a plunger and scalpel. Peppy plunged the excess fur from the site of Fox's wounds, and begin cutting long swaths of fur from his arms.

"ROB, we're going in close, ready the micro-laser."

"Yes sir." ROB's emotionless response almost shocked Peppy. ROB quickly pressed a few buttons on a large machine several feet away. It buzzed and hummed to life as he rolled it over towards Peppy. The machine was a stand mounted surgical laser. Previously such things had only been used to fix poor eyesight, but Peppy had fitted one with a laser powerful enough to assist in some major surgeries.

Peppy brought the device to bear on Fox and began to use it. Moments later the lights on the Great Fox dimmed, the power surged and the laser quit.

"**YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"**

"ROB, stop his heart, put him on life support. I'm not letting Fox die this way! I'm gonna sew this fucker up if I have to!"

"Master Fox may die, Peppy." replied ROB dryly. The lack of concern now marked in his voice more so than ever.

"**I said do it, now do it!" **Peppy commanded.

Fox let out a gasp, before speaking a barely audible, "Peppy…no." before his heart stopped beating, the oxygen mask he'd been wearing came to life. Even without a heartbeat Fox could still survive from the manual pumping of his lungs, and therefore blood through his system. But make no mistake about it, for all intents and purposes Fox was dead.

With surgical precision Peppy hadn't known he had he quickly began sewing up Fox's wounds. The stitches were sloppy, but he could go back over them as he had to, he had time now.

Within a couple of minutes Peppy was finished. As he stalked away from the table he ripped off his gown and whipped it at ROB.

"What the hell were you thinking!" Shouted Peppy.

"The risks involved in saving Fox far outweighed our chances of him living." Replied ROB coldly.

"There was once a time when you'd do anything in your power to help Fox, Rob. What's happened to you?"

ROB simply walked away, ignoring Peppy's question.

"How human of you…" Peppy grumbled.

Meanwhile in the surgery room Fox's eyes shot open. He was alive.

"_No…"_

"Fox you're up." Peppy walked silently into the room. "How do you feel?"

Fox sat momentarily, silently thinking. Shaking his head no he asked simply, "Why?"

"Because Fox, I couldn't let you die down there."

"But you killed me up here, didn't you?" Replied Fox harshly. Sweat dripped from his brow.

Peppy looked down at the bloodstained metal floors. He hadn't realized Fox was conscious during the operation.

"How was it?"

Fox sighed heavily, sitting up he grabbed Peppy by the collar brining him snout to nose, **"BEAUTIFUL…"** Fox replied breathlessly, his face contorted into an expression of nearly explosive hatred. "You're lucky I don't kill you right now."

"Try it." Peppy pressed his blaster into Fox's rotund stomach.

Fox quickly ceded, letting go of Peppy's collar.

"Get some rest kid, then suit up, we're heading to Corneria in a few hours."

Fox lay back in bed, tears flowing from his eyes. Peppy shook his head as he walked away. His job was done.


	7. Chapter 7 Yet The Memory Remains

**The Lylat Wars- Combat Evolved**

**Chapter 6**

**...Yet The Memory Remains**

As Fox lay in bed, still sobbing, however not as uncontrollably so as before he could vaguely hear Peppy engaged in a conversation.

"Yeah, Pepper, Fox is in bad shape. But we need all the help we can get."

"_Pepper? What?" _

A pause, Peppy was silent as the equipment that seemed to surround Fox at every turn simply buzzed and hummed quietly. The calm dim of the room belied its former conflict. Fox and Peppy had never been adversarial towards each other before. Fox conceded, rather fairly in his mind, that he'd been wrong to lash out earlier.

"_But that was too much..."_

Fox shuddered at the thought, the haunting image of Peppy, gaunt and gray bringing to bear his own sidearm on him.

"_He would've done it too..."_

Truly, Fox felt, Peppy had no love for him anymore. The two had always shared some level of kinship. They weren't but mentor and student. However, Fox learned much from Peppy's teachings. Nor were they but simple friends. Peppy was a mirror into Fox's past. Peppy was one of the few living beings who had known Fox's father. For this reason Fox harbored a secret admiration for Peppy.

"_Its just like losing my father all over again." _

Fox sighed heavily as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, attempting to sit up for the first time. Dazed and woozy, Fox resented the fact that his condition was unfavorably familiar.

He stood collecting his equilibrium as best he could and lurched towards the exit. Peering down at the metal grating Fox saw the unfortunate part of himself that he feared the most- manifested in drying red stains; his own self-loathing. If it could be said that anyone hated Fox McCloud, Fox hated himself even more.

As Fox rounded the bend his head began throbbing like it had never throbbed before.

"ROB, lights at twenty percent."

Fox waited for a moment, but nothing happened.

Momentarily, Fox could hear more vague talking; "Yes Pepper. But remember Fox is a masterclass soldier and a pilot."

"He's too much of a liability. He's not stable."

"_That voice..."_

"I'm not disagreeing with you, Pepper. No way. I'm saying we could _use_ that to our advantage."

Fox rounded another corner, coming closer to the conversation.

The words idly continued as Fox stalked towards the source of them. For the first time, almost in forever, Fox was feeling lost in the hallways of his own ship. The white walls, sparkling cleanly and brightly, as well as the bright halogen lights gave the whole ship an almost uniform feel. Every hallway and walkway looked like any other.

"I'm saying we can use it. Listen Pepper, Fox is pissed, he's just lost his best friend. He's more motivated than any of us to kill those things."

Finally Fox stumbled blindly into the communications room.

Peppy turned, in wide-eyed shock; "How much did you hear?"

Fox replied matter-of-factly, "All of it, actually."

On the view screen Pepper grimaced severely. His eyes told the whole story, betraying any attempt to disguise his thoughts. "Fox, you're in. But you better not fuck this one up."

Peppy, awestruck, simply stuttered something to the effect of, "its good to have you back kid."

Staring coldly at both men Fox laid down one final ultimatum; "I will go into battle with you. But, and this goes for both of you, if I die let me stay dead. Don't pull me back from such beauty ever again. Understand, Peppy?"

"Fox..." Peppy began,

Fox flashed a paw to silence Peppy, "understand?"

"Sure thing kid. But I'm not eager to see you go."

"Neither am I, Fox." Replied Pepper..


End file.
